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Monday, September 9, 2013

US Unemployment Rate Falls to 7.3 Percent in August, a New Low for the Recovery

The U.S. unemployment rate edged down from 7.39 percent in July to 7.28 percent in August, according to data released today
by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The decrease did not, however,
reflect an across-the-board strengthening of the labor market. According
to the BLS household survey, the civilian labor force, the number of
unemployed, and the number of employed all decreased slightly for the
month, both before and after seasonal adjustment. The labor force
participation rate and the employment-population ratio also decreased on
the month.

The BLS also publishes data on a broader measure of
unemployment and undermployment known as U-6. That measure takes into
account people who are working part-time but would prefer full-time
work, and so-called marginally attached workers. The latter incude
people who have not looked for work because they think none is available
and people who would like a job and are available for work, but who did
not look for work in the previous four weeks because of study, family
responsibilities, or other reasons. Both involuntary part-time workers
and marginally attached workers decreased for the month, bringing U-6 to
13.7 percent. As the chart shows, that also was a new low for the
recovery.

According to the separate survey of business establishments, the number
of payroll jobs grew by 169,000 during August. The establishment survey
excludes farm workers and the self-employed, does not correct for
workers holding two jobs, and differs in other details of methodology.
It is not unusual for the household employment data and the payroll jobs
data to point in opposite directions. >>>Read More

Follow this link to view or download a classroom-ready slideshow with charts of the latest jobs data

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